Gary Huff wrote:
I've been studying bonsai now for about seven months and I thought I had this watering bonsai
stuff figured out by now, but now I'm learning I may be overwatering. I use the wood skewer
method of dry one inch down then water, the finger method of dry to the first knuckle then water
and I even use a moisture meter to determine when to water my bonsai. Now I'm thinking that
what I read early on may be true, and that was when the pot was dry half way down to water. If it's
a two inch pot then dry to one inch is right, but if it's a 4 inch pot then 2 inches dry is when to
water. Can someone help us newbies to know exactly when to water? Should the soil be dust dry
one inch down before watering or what? Thanks for any help!



Alas, nice as it would be to have one, there isn't a
one-size-fits-all rule. It varies by species, by type of
soil, by pot size (and shape), by time of year, by climate,
ambient temperature, wind speed, and humidity. (ETC.)

The wood skewer/knuckle methods probably are as good as any
for beginners to the sport of bonsai. But basically, you're
going to learn by doing. A notebook is a nice thing to keep
to tell you which trees want what done to (or for) them.

I use a chopstick in the soil for just ONE tree now -- a
recently collected 4-foot Podocarpus in a very large
training pot. Podocarpus tend to just sit there and do
nothing (including transpire) for so long after collecting
it is tough to know when to water. Also, this tree is 100
times larger than anything else I own, and I don't know how
large volumes of soil behave in pots with a large surface
(bottom) area. So I check it every other day and generally
water it once a week.

The rest of my trees are in small pots (13-inches is the
largest) and in my climate need daily watering and the
mame/shohin often need twice-daily watering. In winter, I
water every other day (usually).

I'd donate the moisture meter to someone who raises
gladiolas. If you use the skewer (a wooden chopstick is by
FAR the best kind of skewer to use) keep it jammed to the
BOTTOM of the pot. Let the entire stick feel "pretty dry"
before you water for most conifers; "just damp" for most
broad-leafed trees. It IS subjective! And some trees just
like wetter feet while others can't stand soggy/wet/damp
soil on a constant basis.

Remember too, that all trees will use much less water in
winter, and will use a LOT in spring and early summer. In
very hot climes, (mid 90s and above on a daily basis in the
mid-to late-summer), many trees will have a summer dormancy
where they also use less water. So you have to watch all
year long.

In time, you will be able to lift a pot, assess its weight
(wet soil is heavy) and determine when to water. In the
meantime, you will have times when your trees get watered
too often. That's why you want a soil that, generally
speaking, will "dry out" over the course of a 24-hour period
in which you have no rain.

While you don't ever want to water by a formula, once a day
watering IS a good rule of thumb. If your soil stays soggy,
wet, or damp 24 hours after watering it holds too much
water. What you want is "moist." ;-)

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Nature
encourages no looseness, pardons no errors. Ralph Waldo Emerson

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